Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has threatened to ban all Eritreans from entering the UK if the east African country’s government does not accept more returns of small boat migrants and foreign national offenders.
From Thursday, Eritrean diplomats will face restrictions on their movement outside London. Fast-track visas will also be stopped for VIPs.
Ministers have previously pressured other countries into accepting returns by threatening visa bans.
Eritreans were the most common nationality among small boats migrants in the 12 months to June – accounting for 18% of arrivals, external, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.
The Eritrean embassy in London has been contacted for comment.
“Eritrea has had every chance to accept the return of criminals and those with no right to be in the UK. Unlike other countries, it has refused,” said Mahmood.
She said she would not hesitate “to impose further measures on other countries refusing to co-operate”.
The UK government accused the Eritrean authorities of “abruptly” withdrawing co-operation earlier this year.
The restrictions mean diplomats are banned from travelling 60km outside London without permission.
The Home Office said this mirrored restrictions on British officials in Eritrea’s capital Asmara.
In the 12 months to June only seven people from Eritrea were returned there from the UK, according to Home Office figures. A further 244 Eritreans were returned to other countries.
Over the same period, more than 5,800 Eritreans arrived in the UK via small boats. A further 1,300 were given visas, mostly to join people already settled in the UK.
Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said targeting Eritrea would have little impact.
“Eritrea is one of the major countries of origin for asylum seekers coming to the UK – we had roughly 7,000 asylum applications in the last year of data, roughly 8% of the total,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“Most Eritreans who come and claim asylum are not removable at all – the government would never be in negotiations to remove them because 84% are successful at initial decision; more will be successful on appeal.”
She added that about 1,400 people were initially refused asylum, but that this number would reduce after appeals.
Many young Eritreans try to leave the country – which is a one-party state – to avoid military conscription, which can last for decades.
